In agrarian developing countries the natural environment is a key determinant of both poverty and nutritional status. Climate, terrain, and soil characteristics drive the agricultural system, determining in large part cropping patterns, choice of crops, yield rates, and overall productivity levels. The human resources crucial to agricultural productivity are also influenced by the natural envir...

Agricultural productivity levels in Mozambique lag behind most of its neighbors that have climatic and socioeconomic similarities. Data from the World Bank (2012) indicate that the average cereal yields in 2011/12 in Mozambique were estimated at 700 kg/ha, which is three and four times lower than the average cereal yields in Malawi (2.1 ton/ha) and Zambia (2.7 tons/ha), respectively. The limite...

The introduction of science and technology into agriculture over the past two centuries has markedly increased agricultural productivity and decreased its labor-intensiveness. Chemical fertilization, mechanization, plant breeding and molecular genetic modification (GM) have contributed to unparalleled productivity increases. Future increases are far from assured because of underinvestment in ag...

Labor productivity differences between developing and developed countries are much larger in agriculture than non-agriculture. We show that agricultural composition across explain a substantial part of these labor differences. To this end, we group products into two sectors: capital-intensive labor-intensive agriculture. As the economy develops capital accumulates, price goods relative to incre...

Globally, agriculture provides a livelihood for more people than any other industry. Growth in agricultural production and productivity is needed to raise rural incomes, to support the increasing numbers dependent on the industry and to meet the food and raw material needs of the faster growing urban populations. Enhancing agricultural productivity contributes to industrial growth by providing ...

A detailed retrospective of the Green Revolution, its achievement and limits in terms of agricultural productivity improvement, and its broader impact at social, environmental, and economic levels is provided. Lessons learned and the strategic insights are reviewed as the world is preparing a "redux" version of the Green Revolution with more integrative environmental and social impact combined ...